Anita And Me is a poignant coming-of-age tale that follows Meena, the irreverent teenage daughter of the only Punjabi family in the mining village of Tollington. When she becomes friends with the impossibly feisty Anita, she thinks she’s found her soul mate but her world is turned upside down and she finds herself caught between her two cultures.

Meera Syal says of the stage adaptation: “I am so thrilled that Anita and Me is being developed and premiered at the Birmingham Rep, in the West Midlands where I grew up, where the novel is set and whose people and stories had such a huge influence on my childhood. I know Roxana and Tanika and the rest of the team will do it proud and I can’t wait to see Anita, Meena and the rest of the crew come to life on stage. It will be, I’m pretty sure, bostin’!”

Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre adds: “Meera’s brilliant novel is a wonderful coming-of-age story. It’s an engaging and funny tale set in a tight knit community about a young girl trying to decide her cultural identity and I look forward immensely to realising it on stage.”